Golf
Holy matrimony! Curtis in lead at NEC Invitational
By Associated Press
© St. Petersburg Times
published August 22, 2003
AKRON, Ohio - British Open champion Ben Curtis has a chance to make history again, this time as the only man to start a golf tournament as a bachelor and win it as a husband.
Two days before his wedding, Curtis took his mind off matrimony long enough Thursday to post his best score on the PGA Tour, 6-under 64 that gave him a share of the lead with Sergio Garcia in the NEC Invitational.
Tiger Woods, who has won the last three times at Firestone, shot 65 and was impressed that Curtis was able to play this well with so many distractions.
"Let's just say if he's in contention, I want to see how tired he is on Sunday morning," Woods said, laughing.
The wedding was scheduled for 5 p.m. Saturday in the suburb of Stow, about a 30-minute drive from Firestone. Of course, the invitations were mailed before Curtis, a 500-1 shot, won the British Open. He figured he still could play and make it to the chapel on time.
Because the NEC Invitational adjusts the pairings after each round, Garcia and Curtis will be in the final group today.
Darren Clarke joined Woods at 65, while a group at 66 included David Toms, Davis Love, Chris Riley and Scott Verplank.
U.S. AMATEUR: Oh, my.
David Oh, a University of Southern California player, pulled off the biggest upset of the 103rd tournament, a second-round ouster of long-hitting Trip Kuehne that left the exasperated loser sobbing in his caddie's arms.
Oh, 22, did what the far more experienced Kuehne, 31, thought no one could do - beat him with a subpar round at historically difficult Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania.
Oh was on pace to shoot 1-under 69 on the 7,171-yard layout before closing out the match on No. 17 and winning 3 and 1.
He kept it going by beating Matthew Kohn of Longwood 6 and 5 in the afternoon's third round. Oh meets Wake Forest star Bill Haas, son of PGA Tour pro Jay Haas, in today's quarterfinals.
"I'm so emotional because this tournament means 10 times more to me than it does to anybody else," Kuehne said. "I felt this was the best chance I had since 1994 (when he lost to Tiger Woods in the final) to win."
BAY MILLS OPEN PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP: Michelle Wie thought she had nothing to prove, then did it anyway. The 13-year-old sensation widely believed to be the future of women's golf showed she can play with the men in the first round of this Canadian Tour finale at Brimley, Mich.
With her drives frequently over 300 yards at Wild Bluff Golf Course, Wie had a birdie and three bogeys for 2-over 74, seven shots behind Michael Harris, the leader when play was delayed for the second time by a thunderstorm. Only 24 of 150 players had finished when play resumed at 5 p.m. and many had not teed off.
Harris, a former University of Michigan star, is seeking his first win as a professional.
WACHOVIA LPGA CLASSIC: Emilee Klein birdied her last three holes to break a logjam atop the leaderboard and take a two-stroke lead after the first round in Kutztown, Pa.
Klein shot 6-under 66. Meg Mallon, Carin Koch, Dawn Coe-Jones, Soo-Yun Kang and Sunny Lee were at 68.
Klein hit only 11 greens in regulation, but needed only 25 putts on the Berkleigh Country Club course.
RENO-TAHOE OPEN: Bob Tway, Kirk Triplett, Paul Stankowski, Steve Pate and Andy Miller had 5-under 67 to share the lead before a thunderstorm suspended play.
Luke Donald, J.P. Hayes, Dennis Paulson and Cameron Beckman were a stroke back. More than half the field was unable to complete the round at 7,472-yard Montreux Golf & Country Club.
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